Wanna know what me and my patients did today?

Nothing.

Swine Flu kinda sucks....

Within an hour of each other, we had 2 swine flu diagnosis....didn't see that one comin'. So, now 2/3rds of my household has H1N1 (we have to call *it* that so we don't hurt *it's* feelings). We were tipped off by unusually high fever for both Brad and Jilian. School called on Tuesday and said she was running fever and that I had to come and get her. They required a dr's note to come back if it wasn't flu. So, we headed straight to the pediatrician. BTW, a sweet little McKinney cop, who I waved to as we were driving past him, pulled me over to give me a ticket for an expired inspection sticker. MYDAUGHTERHASSWINEFLU... AREYOUKIDDINGMEWITHTHIS? Turns out, all I have to do is get my car inspected within 20 days, and show the receipt to the court. Then, it will 'disappear'....we'll see...

Anyway, you can imagine my surprise at the pediatrician's office when he came in and told me she had the SWINE. I never even suspected it....I thought ear infection or sinus infection, but NEVER the SWINE. He put her on Tamiflu and lots of rest and fluids. "She's out for the week," he says. "A WEEK? She's runnin' around here like she owns the place; how could she possibly have the SWINE?".....it's possible.

Brad flew in a little early today, and he told me he was running a fever. So, I told him to drive straight to the dr's office and get tested for the SWINE....demand a test.....demand attention.....and, like a good husband, he did. Guess what? He has the SWINE! (that's *it's* new name...how do you like that CDC?)

So, I called my dr and told him that both my family members have the SWINE..."What do I need to do?....Tamiflu?" So, they put me on Tamiflu, too. $75 later and a trip to Chick fil a for chicken noodle soup, and we had our relief.

They have stayed in the front of the house, while I stay in the den.

My poor babies...

BTW, I did manage to get Jilian's clothes sorted and switch out. She was a BIG help....
Now, my babies are both asleep in Jilian's bed.

Better go check on them. That's all for now....oink, oink, oink.....

She did her own hair again.....

Well, we celebrated TX/OU just a bit! We went to Niel and Angie's house to watch the game. Jilian always has fun playing thier kids. She's gone with them, and we never see her again until it's time to leave. They just play and play and play....On Sunday, we went to the Dallas Arboretum. I put on my Halloween socks....And, my Halloween necklace (thanks to KayKay!)..... And, we packed up and went. It was a gorgeous day!

These fish are beautiful....
We didn't stay for long because I just knew Jilian (the clumsiest kid in America) would fall in. Notice Brad's death grip on her!We found deer! Not a REAL deer of course!
Jilian was such a good model. The walkway at the Arboretum was lined with pumpkins, and every 6 pumpkins or so, she would stop and sit on one and pose for a picture.

Here she is falling over trying to sit on one....cute....it wouldn't be a normal day without Jilian falling somehow....
'A pumpkin just my size!'

There was a house made of pumpkins! Woohoo!

What kind of pumpkin is this? What? What?

OMG! A CINDERELLA PUMPKIN!

Her very own pumpkin she picked out.

There was a maze made out of barrels of hay that Brad and Jilian *somehow* made it out of.

She insisted on *hugging* the flowers as part of the posing. Not so sure how the gardeners felt about this.....

It's time to leave....can you tell?! :)

Chamberlain's Review

On Friday night, we met my friend Angie and her husband and another couple at a fancy restaurant called Chamberlains. It was Angie and Niel's tenth wedding anniversary, and they wanted to celebrate with their closest friends who have been there through thick and thin. Angie and I have been friends for 11 years. And, man, have we been through a lot....her daughter, Haley's apendectimy, my pregnancy/adoption of Thomas, her wedding, my wedding, her 3 more kids, mine and Brad's fertility issues, her near death health issues....I could go on. It's been a wild ride, but it's been worth every minute of it. I'm very thankful for our frienship.

So, we got all dressed up, and headed out to Addison for a night on the town. I ordered the 6oz filet minon, cut butterfly (I just learned this term; it's where they cut the filet in half so it cooks more evenly) with garlic mashed potatoes. Brad and I don't frequent these restaurants so I was so excited to learn this new term.

I'm not quite sure what the red stuff was; I picked it off. The steak was great and the mashed potatoes were great. I ate the WHOLE thing. Brad got the creme brulee, and he said it was very good. We ended up talking and hanging around, and after 2 1/2 hours the host finally came over and kicked us out. He was very polite about it though. So, then we just moved the party outside and talked a bit more. It was a nice night.....with good company.

Here' what I've learned over the past few months....

1. I do not like butterscotch.
2. Jilian loves loves loves Little Caesars pizza (she asks for it every time Daddy is out of town because she knows I don't really cook.) Which leads me to number 3....
3. I DO NOT LIKE TO COOK. It sucks....I'm slow, it tastes bad.....I just don't get it.
4. I feel like my luck is running out with regards to driving ILLEGALLY in the HOV lane, yet I still do it.
5. If I buy a 50oz bag of Winto-Green Lifesavers, I can eat them all within a week.
6. While convincing my sister to take the girls to see Taylor Swift in March, I actually said the words...Jilian will be 4. 4? Are you kidding me? I will have a 4 year old soon?
7. I DO NOT like that it gets dark at 7 o'clock.
8. No matter how many subscriptions to magazines I sign up for, I still never read them.
9. As I get older, I am discovering things on my body that I don't think are supposed to be there, and when I discover them, I immediately call the doctor....one rib cages sticks out more than the other...called the docotor, bump near my collar bone....called the doctor.
10. I am not allowed to watch any crime shows (Criminal Minds, Law & Order, CSI) while Brad is out of town.
11. Grandparents are a huge blessing in Jilian's life. Thanks Pop Pop, Mimi & Poppi and KayKay & Grandpa. What would we do without you?
12. Jilian is very stubborn (just like her mother.)
13. I'm addicted to Chick fil a breakfast. I need an intervention.
14. My family is very important to me.
15. No matter how much I pick up the house, I cannot keep it clean.
16. My obsession with list making will never go away, and I will never have everything crossed off the list. EVER.
17. I cannot go another summer with the a/c unit that we currently have.
18. I do not have enough vacation hours at work to take all the time off that I need.
19. I LOVE the beach!
20. I will never make it to work on time when Brad is out of town.
21. I cannot spend more than $2.99 on an iPhone app.
22. I am thankful for all the people in my life, and I know that I should not take that for granted.

We've been busy....

And boy do we have a lot to report!

We went to the balloon festival in Plano a few weekends ago and had a blast! My sister and her family came and KayKay and Grandpa, too. We met a bunch of friends there and watched them take off, do a balloon 'glow' and fireworks after. Here are a few pics -

Tim and Brad...

Cousins (Ella, Jilian and Seth)...

Izzy, Ella and Jilian...

Pop Pop and the grandkids...

All of us, stretching from one pink arrow to the other!

Jilian's new favorite song is Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. Here we all are rockin' with 'our hands up, they're playin my song....'

Jilian's school had a Parade of Cultures last week. Her class was Scotland. They brought out each class, all representing a different country, and they walked around the parking lot. It was so cute! Jilian was very serious about her job. She walked around and barely smiled. But, heck, I would have been freaked out by all the parents standing around watching and laughing with video cameras!

Here are a few pics of the family. And one of Brad and I. We rarely get dressed up, so we took this opportunity to grab a quick pic.

Poppi, Jilian, Brad, Mimi and me...

So, you know Jilian loves loves loves to do her own hair with ALL of her hair bows, right? Here's the latest 'do.....

Last week, when it rained a lot, while driving home from getting Little Caesars pizza (which we do quite often because this cooking thing isn't working out so well), we saw a RAINBOW! It was so pretty; it was a full rainbow - went all the way around. I had a bad day at work and that day, Jilian went potty in her pants, so I was upset about that.....and just other stuff was going on. But, when we saw the rainbow, everything was just......better. It was the ray of light that we needed. We sat outside forever just talking about it - where does it stop? is there a pot of gold somewhere? where do they come from? It was....nice. :)

Last Friday, we had a nice little treat. My uncle and his wife were in town. So, we went over to Cynthia's house and chit chatted. They are very unique people and have a lot of life experiences that I love to hear about. They play in a Blue Grass band in Colorado Springs, and they brought their instruments with them. Uncle Bob plays the mandolin and Cindy plays the dulcimer. It was so great to hear them play. Jilian wasn't warming up to Uncle Bob, and he desperately tried to lure her in. But, she was sold on Cindy! She got to play the dulcimer which she really liked.So, my sister and I made a trip to Canton on Sunday. We almost needed a boat to get there, but we finally made it. A little rain won't keep any girl away from 1st Monday Trade Days in Canton! It poured the whole time we were there. We stayed in the covered areas, those were the only vendors that were there anyway.

Okay, so my sister has her heart set on BIG bows for the girls for Christmas. The idea is great - keep the outfits simple and go all out on the bows. She wants feathers in the bows. This was one of our goals at Canton - to find these BIG bows WITH feathers. I'm along for the ride. We bought a few. Let's just say that I probably wouldn't have picked them out myself, but again, I'd do it for my sister. I'm neutral....she has her heart set on it....she wins! Here they are....
We also went to the State Fair of Texas (I feel like a need a megaphone when I say that) this past weekend with my sister and her family and KayKay and Grandpa. A full report will be on the next post....so many great pics!